Daily Devotion, January 1, 2023

 

Devotion:

Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.

This is one of my favorite passages of the whole Bible and what I include as my personal mission statement. (Do you have a passage of Scripture which serves that purpose for you?)

Our focus from this passage for today is verse 17. Here is how the Common English Bible translates it (with the first part of verse 18 included): “So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! All of these new things are from God…” Yes! God is on a mission to create all things new, including every person who is willing to grow into being a different person than they are now.

In our United Methodist Hymnal is included an affirmation of faith from the United Church of Canada. It is one of my favorite statements of what we believe as God’s people. Here is a portion of it: “We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.”

God invites you and me and everybody else to join in this mission of renewal and restoration. Open yourself to God’s creating power in your life and allow this Holy Spirit to work through you on the way to a “new creation.”

Personal Worship Option:

Join us for worship this morning at 10:00 at Christ Church. And if you stayed up way past midnight last night to celebrate the new year (so that it’s close to or after 10:00 before you even see this), join us online! And one more thing: please join us in prayer today, asking God to guide us as we seek to be the people of Christ in 2023. Happy New Year!